Operation Telic: The British Campaign in Iraq 2003-2009

OPERATION TELIC The British Campaign in Iraq 2003-2009 Tim Ripley Foreword by Andrew Gilligan Waging Britain’s Most Unpopular War? The campaign in Iraq between March 2003 and June 2009 deeply polarised British politics, contributing to the fall from power of Prime Minister Tony Blair and seriously damaging the reputation, at home and abroad, of the British armed forces. Eleven years on from the start of the war, it is now possible to learn real lessons from the campaign. Delays in publishing the Chilcott Inquiry into the Iraq make it even more important to learn from the Iraq experience, yet the Ministry of Defence refused to co-operate with the author in the writing of this book. This book draws upon many new sources of information about Operation Telic, including: * Using for first time uncensored British and Coalition military documents and maps from units that participated in the campaign. * Internal British Army publications, giving first hand accounts of the campaign. * Exclusive interviews with senior British commanders and military personnel. Tim Ripley’s Operation Telic reveals startling new information about the conduct of Britain’s war ill-fated in Iraq. For the first time it tells the story of the campaign from the perspective of commanders and troops on the ground, establishing a new standard for historical accounts of Britain’s wars in the 21st Century.